Improved machine for handling hides



PATENT @FFI-cm JESSE SQWHEAT, OF SOUTH WHEELING, VEST VIRGINIA.

IMPROVEDiMACHINE FOR HANDLING HIDES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 41,336, dated January 19, 1864.

To all whom 'it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, JEssE S. WHEAT, ot South Wheeling, in the county of Ohio and State of West Virginia, have invented a new and Improved Apparatus for Handling Hides and Skins 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,.and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my invention, taken in the plane indicated by the line .r x, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view ofthe same.

Similar letters of reference in both views indicate corresponding parts..

This invention consists in the employment or use for the purpose of handling hides and skins of one or more paddles suspended by an adjustable. arm from a spring-bar over a vat containing hides or skins and tanning or bait liquor or linie-bath, and connected to a crank-shaft in such a manner that by the combined action of the spring-bar and crank-shaft a reciprocating rotary motion is imparted' to the paddle, and thereby the liquor and hides or skins'in the vat are caused to revolve over and over, and the hides or skins are thus handled with the least possible labor and exertion. For the purpose of handling an extraordinary heavy pack of hides the paddle is armed with two or more hooks, which act on the hides and cause them to revolve by direct application of power.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a tanning-vat constructed of wood or any other suitable material, and provided with a false rounded bottom, B. G is a paddle, which is rigidly attached to the lower end l'of an arm, D, which is hinged by a pivot, a, to the slotted end of a spring-bar, E. The arm D maybe made of wood or any other suitable material, and, instead of attaching one paddle directly to theI lower end of said arm, two or more paddles might be secured to it by a suitable link or cross bar. The upper end of the arm nl) is provided with a series of holes, b, so that by changing the position of the pivot a and crank F the handle or paddles can be set higher or lower, as may be desired; or by using a link having a slit in each end and attaching the crank to the center of said link, two rows of vats with a paddle in each may be operated from the same crank-shaft.

The springbar E may be attached to an upright, c, rising from the end of the vat or to the ceiling; or it may be secured in any other desirable manner at the proper height above the vat, and it may either be made of wood, metal, or of both combined, as may be desirable. The loose end of said springbar extends over the center of the vat, and by the action of this bar the weight of the arm and paddle is balanced. In case there is not room to work thespring the end of the bar attached to the ceiling may be hinged; or the slot in the bar may have rollers placed in it and the arm work up and down through the slot. The arm D is connected at a point between the paddle and pivot a to a crank-shaft, F, which has its bearings in two uprights rising from the side edges of the vat or in hangers extending down from the ceiling in such a position that said shaft extends in a direction at right angles, or nearly so, to the springbar E. 1f desired, this shaft may be made to extend across two or more vats placed side by side, and different cranks set in different directions may be used to work one or more paddles in each vat. A rotary motion isV imparted to the crankshaft F by hand or other lcompetent power inthe direction of the arrow marked near it in Fig. 1, and by this motion the paddle is carried back above the surface of the liquor, then down into the liquor and forward, then out of the liquor and back, continually carrying the liquor forward at the top of the vat and causing it to assume a turning motionv toward the bottom of the vat, while the current created back ofthe paddle imparts an upward motion to the liquor This apparatus might'. also be applied as e propelling power for boats.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The employment or use, for the purpose of handling hides or skins, of one or more paddles, C, secured to an arm, D, which is suspended from aspringbzn, E, or its equivw lent, and derives its motion from a crankshafm, F, or its equivalent, substantially in the manner herein shown and described. p

2. The application of Jolie hooks d to the paddles or paddle C, as and for the purposes set forth.

JESSE S. WHEAT. 1Witnesses ABNER L. WELLs, rNi'ci-ioLAs JAS. STENGER. 

